Fending off charges of secrecy, St. Johns County Commission places 2 school taxes on Nov. 5 ballot

The St. Johns County Commission agreed to add two referendums to the Nov. 5 election ballot for voters to decide on taxes being sought by the St. Johns School Board.

The referendums, which came at the request of the School Board, each passed 4-1 at an emergency meeting of the commission on Aug. 22. If passed by voters, one would continue the half-cent sales tax to fund new school construction, improvements and repairs, including safety and security upgrades, with continued monitoring by the Sales Surtax Citizen Advisory Committee. The other referendum would allow the School Board to increase property tax rates to fund teacher salaries.

According to Commissioner Christian Whitehurst, the BCC received the 2025 school millage rate proposal Aug. 20 from the school district. Whitehurst described the meeting as purely procedural.

“The meeting was ministerial, designed for the board, as required by the board, to accommodate the mechanisms outlined by the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections, which states that all information be made public prior to Aug. 23 for early voting,” he said. “This was not an initiative, by any means.”




https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/politics/county/2024/08/27/st-johns-county-commission-places-two-school-taxes-on-nov-5-ballot/74974435007/